Lockdown? Ok, a new direction! NODA South East
Godalming Theatre Group (GTG) wanted members to experience something close to a professional filmed production: auditions on camera, filming on location, call times, a shooting schedule, professional lighting, plus a sound man with a boom mic! TWO, by Jim Cartwright was the perfect vehicle: a beautifully written two hander, set in a pub, with one man and one woman playing multiple parts (fourteen in total). However, with permission we transformed it to 14 actors playing the roles through duologues and monologues, thereby suiting social distancing. Cast confirmed, there followed an online read-through in preparation for the live rehearsals. Then, new government regulations – the rule of six was announced… all plans scuppered? No! Undeterred, online rehearsals followed challenging everyone; no moving around to explore lines, or finding different ways to play the scene! By reducing the crew to just three – director, camera, sound, we could still film the scenes separately on location. We soon realised that early, meticulous learning of lines, is crucial for one take monologues and pick-ups for new camera positions; allowing the creative team to concentrate on the technical side. Filming set for two weeks tipped into a third one before the play was ‘in the can’. The actors were superb: tackling new challenges head on such as continuity with
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props and actions, performing multiple takes and indeed talking to camera for the first time! Very different techniques to stage work. After editing, the film was available for viewing online for one day only, as per our digital rights. Free to watch, we encouraged donations to a local charity – Godalming Community Store. The effort, trials and tribulations were rewarded tenfold by the appreciation and generosity of our audience who donated over £3000. I was extremely proud to direct this GTG project and would highly recommend TWO for other groups looking for either a Zoom or filmed production. It was a fantastic way to offer our members an exciting new challenge at a time when no live theatre performances were possible.
